Bishan Depot
| owner = Land Transport Authority | operator = SMRT Corporation | depotcode = | type = At-grade | opened = 1987 | closed = | original = | pregrouping = | postgrouping = | roads = Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, Bishan Road | rollingstock = C151, C651, C751B, C151A, C151B (future), C151C (Future) | routes = North South Line }} Bishan Depot (Chinese: 碧山车厂) is a depot located on the Mass Rapid Transit in Bishan, Singapore. It was completed in 1987 by American architect Vikas M. Gore and the 12,000 square metres maintenance area at cost of S$300 million. The depot comprises a storage yard with a capacity of 59 trains and has an area of 300,000 m². The depot also houses a central maintenance facility with train overhaul facilities for trains on the North South Line and East West Line operated by SMRT. It also acts as a training centre for newly recruited staff, and is where the faregate operation department is located. The depot is located between Ang Mo Kio station and Bishan station and has 3 reception tracks: 2 tracks northbound towards Ang Mo Kio station and 1 track southbound towards Bishan station. SMRT Cram Jam! On 11 February 2007, SMRT Organized the SMRT Cram Jam! cum Learning Journey and Charity Bazaar to raise funds for the SMRT Silver Tribute Fund. The Cram Jam took place in the morning seeking an entry into the Singapore Book of Records by cramming people inside a standard Kawasaki C151 car (car used: 2027), a Mercedes O405G Hispano Habit bus (bus registered: TIB1202K) and a Ssangyong Rodius/Stavic MPV cab. The Singapore Police Force crammed 550 officers inside the train car, 235 staff from SMRT were crammed inside the bus and an amazing 44 Girl Guides Singapore cadets crammed themselves into the cab. Games, carnival food and a 90-minute tour around the Bishan Depot were organised. Installation and Upgrading Shed The rolling stock workshop and Tracks 10-12, built enclosed are where various programmes are conducted. Only five trains can undergo installation works during each 3- to 18-week period. *Refurbishment of C151 sets (from 2006 to 2008 as well as 2010 to 2013), prior to the opening of Pioneer and Joo Koon, there are 94 trains in service at each time. It was increased to 96 in 2010, and finally to 106 in 2012. *Upgrading the signalling system (from 2014 to 2016) in all trains. It had increased the total cohort to 120 in 2014. With the new CBTC signalling system in place, 3 C651s were withdrawn from service and the whole of C651 refurbishment was scrapped. The majority of the C151Bs and all of the C151Cs were here. Incidents A C751B MRT train was vandalised in an apparent security breach at Bishan Depot on 17 August 2011. The train was then put into service before the vandalism was discovered. The Land Transport Authority subsequently fined SMRT S$200,000 for failing to detect, in a timely manner, the graffiti on the train. On 15 July 2016, local and Australian media reported that between April and July 2015, two Americans Jim Harper and Danielle Bremner, posted a series of vandalism videos online under the pseudonyms Utah and Ether, with one video showing them committing the act at Bishan depot. Harper was arrested and jailed 6-months in May in Melbourne, Australia, while his partner is on the run. Two carriages of a new C151A that has been undergoing testing derailed at Bishan Depot on 29 January 2014. SMRT spokesman Alina Boey said they "slipped off the track" while the train was pulling out of the stabling yard. No passengers were on board and there were no injuries. The company stressed that the train had not been put into service yet and that normal services were not affected by the incident. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) was informed of the incident at around noon. A spokesman for LTA said some of the wheels on the third and fourth carriages were found to have been affected. Neither SMRT nor the LTA elaborated on what caused the two carriages to go off the track, and it is unclear how the incident occurred. SMRT staff were spotted along the tracks in the depot repairing the train on 29 January 2014. They had separated the first two carriages of the six-car train to work on the third and the fourth. Said Ms Boey: "As part of SMRT's rigorous testing process for all new trains, we conduct comprehensive stress tests to ensure all train components are rail-worthy." The spokesman for LTA says trains introduced into the MRT network are tested both overseas and locally before they are put into service. The incident did not impact train operations and said the LTA will investigate the incident. Another incident of a MRT train being vandalized happened on a C151A set on 5 May 2014. Police reports were made in the early hours of the morning when trains were being dispatched from the depot. A third case of vandalism took place on 8 November 2014 when two Germans, Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, spraypainted a cabin on a C151 train after breaking in to the depot. They were each sentenced to nine months jail and given three strokes of the cane as per the Vandalism Act. References Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) depots Category:Buildings and structures in Bishan, Singapore Category:Transport in Central Region, Singapore Category:Bishan